Olympics Closing Ceremony: George Michael Made Olympic-Sized Comeback, But Was It Appropriate?

The singer, struck down by illness last year, thrilled his fans with an energetic comeback last night with a two-song stint during the Olympics Closing Ceremony.

George Michael gave fans an energetic performance at last night's Closing Ceremony

The London singer, who had had to bring his tour to a sudden halt last year with a life-threatening bout of pneumonia, went on stage about half-way through the evening to sing his classic hit Freedom 90, followed by his latest single White Light.

White Light was inspired by his brush with death and subsequent inspiration to get creative again. The video to the song features Kate Moss, who appeared separately last night, as part of the section of the show dedicated to fashion.

Kate Moss was there too

George Michael has one of the great voices of British pop, and it was in as fine fettle as ever. And his energetic dancing put to rest any fears that he is not fully recovered from his frighteningly grave illness.

It was a shame, though, to see him wearing thick sunglasses throughout his performance. In a gig this size, performers have to do everything they can to create a sense of intimacy, and not seeing his eyes at any point hindered this.

And it was an unseemly idea to use his two-song slot to plug his latest single, which went on sale yesterday. George Michael is one of the most charity-minded artists around, so I'm sure there was no cynical intent, however, in a slot of only two songs, a stadium full of fans of all ages would have been much better served with another classic, or a wittily-chosen cover plucked from the archives for the occasion. Instead, they got what amounted to "and here's some of my new material..."

With his recovery from illness, a freshly-inspired creativity, the resumption of his tour and a new album on the way, George Michael undoubtedly has a lot to celebrate. Last night should have been about celebrating everyone else.